Friday, October 23, 2009

When challenged to name the all time top ten First Ladies of the United States, I turned to my wife, the amateur presidential historian and the only person I know who can not only recite the presidents in order, but also the presidents' wives. In chronological order, here are her choices for the All-Time Top Ten President's Wives.

1. Martha Washington - "Lady Washington" as she was named by the grateful troops whose welfare she tended during the infamous winter at Valley Forge, set the tone for those women who would come after her. A dutiful wife, she supported him in war and peace and followed him in death just 2 years later.

2. Dolly Madison - The wife of James Madison, Dolly was the first celebrity First Lady, earning the admiration of Washington society and rescuing art and treasures from the White House, narrowly escaping in 1812 as the British burned the city and the White House during their brief capture of the capital. For sheer guts, Dolly makes this list - that and I just love her cupcakes!

3. Caroline Harrison - Wife of Benjamin Harrison, Caroline, herself a talented artist, was one of the first First Ladies to take on the renovation of the, by then, fading White House. She fought rodents and insects, laid new floors, installed new plumbing, painted and wallpapered, and added more bathrooms. In 1891 she and the president installed electricity in the White House, even thought they were so frightened of it that they refused to touch the electrical switches. Caroline put up the first Christmas tree ever seen in the White House in 1882. She also worked tirelessly for a wide range of charities despite her struggles with ill health. She finally succumbed to tuberculosis shortly before the end of Harrison's term.

4. Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, the wife of Woodrow Wilson, has called America's first female president. When Woodrow Wilson suffered a stroke in October 1919, Edith basically ran the government secretly while protecting her husband from publicity through his long, disabling illness. She studied all the paperwork that came to the president and decide what was important enough for him to handle. She opposed allowing the vice-president to take over and successfully defended Wilson's job during his illness.

5. Lou Henry Hoover, wife of Herbert Hoover was active in philanthropy and served as president of the Girl Scouts of America and was influential in establishing one of the first such organizations for girls.

6. Eleanor Roosevelt was literally FDR's legs. Unable to travel freely, FDR depended on Eleanor to do much of his visiting for him. She became a familiar figure at rallies, military bases, diplomatic affairs and public celebrations. Even after her husband's death, Roosevelt carried on an active career as speaker, author, politician, New Deal activist and proponent of the United Nations.

7. Jackie Kennedy should get a medal just for putting up with Jack's shenanigans with grace. She ably supported her husband's diplomatic efforts with grace and style and became a celebrity in her own right. She conducted badly needed renovations in the crumbling White House and was the pivotal figure in bringing the nation through the trauma of John Kennedy's murder.

8. Betty Ford was active in social policy and the most politically active first lady since Eleanor Roosevelt. Some think she had more impact on the history and culture of America than her husband did. She raised awareness of breast cancer after undergoing a mastectomy herself. She was more liberal than her husband supporting the Equal Right's Amendment and the women's movement. She went public with her life long alcoholism and established the Betty Ford Clinic for addiction research and treatment.

9. Nancy Reagan acted as her husband's political partner and despite criticism from the press, played a role in vetting the people who surrounded the president. She led a determined "Just Say No" anti-drug program and raised the money to perform extensive renovations to the White House that restored the "people's house" as she called it to it's former glory. No public funds were used in the construction. Her heroic care for her husband during his decline due to Alzheimer's captured the public imagination.

10. Barbara Bush's husband once said, that if Barbara had run for his second term, she'd have won. An immensely popular figure, America's grandmother campaigned tirelessly for literacy and reading and raised a 25 million dollar endowment fund to preserve the White House for the future.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

FR: D. Letterman
Pay no attention to
the camera-like
fixtures in the ladies
rooms.

#9. To: All Female Staff
FR: D. Letterman
The Jacuzzi is now
clothing optional for
senior female staffers,
particularly very
senior female staffers.
In fact, clothing is
mandatory for two
female staffers in particular (you know who you are).

#8. To: All Female Staff
FR: D. Letterman
Clothing is still not an option for junior
female staffers in the Jacuzzi.

#7. To: All Female Staff
FR: D. Letterman
Pay no attention to the camera-like fixtures in the Jacuzzi.

#6. To: All Female Staff
FR: D. Letterman
All female staff must sign up for at least 60 minutes of daily
'bounce' aerobics classes in the company gym. New
'bouncier' mini-trampolines have been installed in the
'bounce' aerobics class area. I'm sure we'll all enjoy
those.

#5. To: All Female Staff
FR: D. Letterman
Pay no attention to the camera-like fixtures in
the company gym, especially those mounted at floor
level pointing up into the 'bounce' aerobics area.

#4. TO: Maintenance
FR: D. Letterman
The Green Room sofa does NOT fold out as
specified in my contract (page 332, paragraph 4b).
Can somebody get that taken care of before
Tuesday's show with Britney Spears' sister?

#3. TO: Maintenance
FR: D. Letterman
Please remove the mirror from the ceiling of the
Green room as requested by Miss Spears prior
to her appearance on Tuesday. Don't forget to
install the camera-like fixtures as shown in the
attached wiring diagram.

#2 TO: Maintenance
FR: D. Letterman
Please remove camera-like fixtures as requested
in Miss Spears' amended appearance contract
and install privacy curtains in Miss Spears' dressing
room as further specified in her contract.
And please do not give any more walk-around tours
to Miss Lohan's attorney or mother.

#1. TO: All Staff
FR: D. Letterman Pay no attention to that man behind the curtains!

*The above photo file is licensed under the Creative CommonsAttribution 2.0 License.** (c) 2009 by Tom King. All rights reserved. Contact twayneking@gmail.com for permission to reprint this article. Feel free to link to it as you wish.

Total Pageviews

About Me

I’m a native Texan, free-lance writer, teacher,
counselor, fund-raiser, grant-writer, nonprofit CEO & advocate working with children, youth, seniors, people with
disabilities and the homeless. I’m a Seventh day Adventist Christian, Reagan conservative, amateur folk guitarist, banjo player, sailor and canoer. I'm happily married to Sheila Keen, a tall pretty Louisiana girl and together we've had 3
children. We tragically lost our son, Micah in 2006. We've since moved to the Pacific Northwest where we are healing and reordering our lives. We
look forward to Christ's soon return and being reunited with all our loved ones..